Misty, Mash-Ups and the Marginalized in British Girls' Comics.

Abstract

Misty, Mash-Ups, and the Marginalised in British Girls’ Comics - Julia Round. --- Gothic has famously been described as ‘Frankenstein’s monster, a collocation of materials drawn from other sources, bound together in a monstrous (dis)unity’ (Otto 2013). It is an encompassing mode of writing that absorbs and subsumes other genres and ideas: re-presenting them to us with a macabre edge. This talk will explore the ways in which Gothic mash-ups combine and reorient key Gothic concepts, focusing on the case study of the British comic book Misty (IPC, 1978-80): a wildly popular supernatural mystery comic that ran for 101 issues before disappearing from our shelves, but is still remembered fondly today. The paper first notes overt examples of Gothic name-checks, for example in Misty’s story titles, covers, features, and articles that bring in Gothic connotations through their wording and content. It then examines the ways in which Misty’s serial stories rework and reorient popular media texts: following the model of exploitation cinema (a strategy that was pioneered by its co-creator Pat Mills in his other comics). The paper compares the work of two key writers, Pat Mills and Malcolm Shaw, using close analysis of examples such as ‘Moonchild’ (Carrie); ‘Hush, Hush, Sweet Rachel’ (Audrey Rose), ‘End of the Line’ (Death Line) and ‘The Sentinels’ (The Sentinel). It explores the ways in which these stories adapt or combine contemporary popular adult horror films and books and reflects on the role of the comics medium in reorienting and framing these combinations. It will demonstrate that the Misty mash-ups rework Gothic concepts into accessible and relatable forms for young female readers, which include themes of self-control, isolation, patriarchal distrust, and fears of bodily transformation. --- References - Otto, Peter. 2013. Introduction 9 - Gothic echoes / Gothic labyrinths. Gothic Fiction. http://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/gothic_fiction/introduction9.aspx. Accessed 18 April 2013.